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When Will a Black Actor Get to Have Their Deadpool Moment?
- Thread starter DizzyCrow
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CrichtonKicks
Member
Reynolds was very fortunate that he had both The Proposal (2009) and Safe House (2012) hit right at very low points in his career. Both were very successful. While the success was rightfully primarily attributed to his co-stars (Sandra Bullock and Denzel), they were enough to keep him as a theatrical lead for a few more years.
Honestly with Criminal's failure he would probably be in Straight-to-DVD or on Cable right now if Deadpool hadn't hit the way it did.
I would say John Travolta had a similar trajectory. He was in movie purgatory hard (anyone remember The Experts) before Pulp Fiction revitalized his career.
Moff
Member
damn what happened to jamie foxx, I loved him in Django
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Reynolds is unremarkable, but his dad is a legend.
I think the center for this article could be better illustrated for Channing Tatum. I like Tatum. I think a lot of people like him- he is handsome and charming and he rode on that charm and carisma until he showed everyone he could act. But I don't think a lot of people thought he had more than good looks before Foxcatcher?
I think the center for this article could be better illustrated for Channing Tatum. I like Tatum. I think a lot of people like him- he is handsome and charming and he rode on that charm and carisma until he showed everyone he could act. But I don't think a lot of people thought he had more than good looks before Foxcatcher?
therealist
Member
I never quite understood the idea that African Americans were underrepresented in Hollywood/TV. If you go by demographics, African Americans make up 12% of the population.
How are they represented in Hollywood? 12%
Hispanics, Asians need to have their representation increased, but black representation seems to be okay.
How are they represented in Hollywood? 12%
http://annenberg.usc.edu/pages/~/media/MDSCI/CARDReport FINAL 22216.ashx
Hispanics, Asians need to have their representation increased, but black representation seems to be okay.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
ASM 2 didn't do any favors.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Doesn't matter- he was already successful at the boxoffice before that. Don't forget that they did huge reshoots on the GI Joe sequel just to feature more of him after they originally killed him off 5 minutes in.
The issue isn't the amount of actors in the business, but how these actors are utilized. Only a few movies a year are predominately black, while far more than 60% of films are predominately white.
n00bsauce87
Member
Wouldn't Terrence Howard qualify, especially post-Iron Man 1 to Empire?
therealist
Member
America is a predominantly white country though.
cartographer
Member
You can make that argument without saying something along the lines of "Reynolds worked hard" and implying that there aren't minority actors out there working as hard as him.
Maybe there's no black Deadpool moment because the black filmmakers working like Reynolds worked don't get the same opportunity, connections etc. for their work to go anywhere.
foxuzamaki
Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
We can get one more blade 🎥 out it him, just one more
He even got to k̶i̶s̶s̶ hug Aaliyah. That's the best they're gonna give us.
IMDB are just movie nerds circlejerking, don't know why people take it seriously.
tearsintherain
Member
There are a number of factors at play, all of which independently collude to keep certain races out of the upper echelon of the movie box office.
First is worldwide grosses. US domestic box office isn't enough anymore for a $200m+ budget movie, you NEED those numbers from Europe, Asia, and South America to make a profit. Almost every single one of the top 10 movies in the last few years has made more money worldwide than domestic box office. So while say Straight Outta Compton may have made $160m in domestic (on a $28m budget) it only made $40m overseas. Contrast that with say Warcraft which made a pitiful $44m domestic but made nearly $400m in international tickets. Even after you factor in the different cut %s it still doesn't matter, the foreign box office vastly outstrips domestic.
Second is chinese influence now. Two of the top 20 movies last year in worldwide grosses were financed by china, done by chinese actors, and done entirely in chinese. Mermaid and Monster Hunter. Legendary Pictures is owned by a chinese company, as is AMC theaters. Their influence is growing, and they are pretty particular about what they finance and distribute, especially when it comes to collusion with the Chinese government. You see more and more summer blockbuster movies putting in chinese actors or cities so they can be sure to be shown and financed in China. One of the big reasons Ghostbusters was a commercial flop was that it was not allowed to be seen in China, which only allows something like 25-30 Western movies a year to be shown.
Third is arguable, diminishing time of movie stars. While a few like Tom Cruise seem to have very long careers, many more seem to have a very short time where they are bankable and then people don't really seem to reliably watch their movies, good or bad. Especially with how high quality domestic television is, quality is far more important than a movie star's "bankability". Good movie + popular star is the formula for success now, just having a popular star isn't enough.
That doesn't erase the ability for people to do smaller successful movies, and I think there is definitely an open spot for a new studio to push out extremely well written big blockbuster movies using perhaps new distribution techniques (buy ticket in theater, see it at home 3 weeks later for free kinda thing) starring a more diverse cast. We'll probably see someone fund that kind of thing since there is definitely a MARKET for good, giant summer blockbuster movies but we keep getting delivered crap like B v S, Suicide Squad, Transformers, Independence Day, Warcraft, X-Men, etc. Also stuff like Fast and Furious and the wealth of options in television is being ignored.
One of the biggest changes will have to be how movies are made, right now so many get done too quickly with utterly crap scripts and it seems insane that anyone would expect a good movie if the script is awful. The best writers all seem to be working on TV, not in movies.
First is worldwide grosses. US domestic box office isn't enough anymore for a $200m+ budget movie, you NEED those numbers from Europe, Asia, and South America to make a profit. Almost every single one of the top 10 movies in the last few years has made more money worldwide than domestic box office. So while say Straight Outta Compton may have made $160m in domestic (on a $28m budget) it only made $40m overseas. Contrast that with say Warcraft which made a pitiful $44m domestic but made nearly $400m in international tickets. Even after you factor in the different cut %s it still doesn't matter, the foreign box office vastly outstrips domestic.
Second is chinese influence now. Two of the top 20 movies last year in worldwide grosses were financed by china, done by chinese actors, and done entirely in chinese. Mermaid and Monster Hunter. Legendary Pictures is owned by a chinese company, as is AMC theaters. Their influence is growing, and they are pretty particular about what they finance and distribute, especially when it comes to collusion with the Chinese government. You see more and more summer blockbuster movies putting in chinese actors or cities so they can be sure to be shown and financed in China. One of the big reasons Ghostbusters was a commercial flop was that it was not allowed to be seen in China, which only allows something like 25-30 Western movies a year to be shown.
Third is arguable, diminishing time of movie stars. While a few like Tom Cruise seem to have very long careers, many more seem to have a very short time where they are bankable and then people don't really seem to reliably watch their movies, good or bad. Especially with how high quality domestic television is, quality is far more important than a movie star's "bankability". Good movie + popular star is the formula for success now, just having a popular star isn't enough.
That doesn't erase the ability for people to do smaller successful movies, and I think there is definitely an open spot for a new studio to push out extremely well written big blockbuster movies using perhaps new distribution techniques (buy ticket in theater, see it at home 3 weeks later for free kinda thing) starring a more diverse cast. We'll probably see someone fund that kind of thing since there is definitely a MARKET for good, giant summer blockbuster movies but we keep getting delivered crap like B v S, Suicide Squad, Transformers, Independence Day, Warcraft, X-Men, etc. Also stuff like Fast and Furious and the wealth of options in television is being ignored.
One of the biggest changes will have to be how movies are made, right now so many get done too quickly with utterly crap scripts and it seems insane that anyone would expect a good movie if the script is awful. The best writers all seem to be working on TV, not in movies.
Ninja Scooter
Member
The reason guys like Eddie or Will smith are poor comparisons is because those guys hit it huge out of the gate. Reynolds didn't. He was pushed hard, everything he touched failed, and he continued to get pushed until finally hitting it big within deadpool. You would be hard pressed to find an actor of color that is afforded that many chances before their big break.
Messofanego
Banned
I agree, we need Blade back.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
I'm not making the he worked heard arguement though. I making the arguement that's there's almost no white Ryan Reynolds let alone black Ryan Reynolds. Black actors do get Break out hits, not to the same degree as Deadpool perhaps but even the year before that you had successes like Creed.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
Ahhh ok, I kinda get it.
The Roman Reigns, but yeah there's a few like that
Some Hollywood eventually gave up on.
Justin Long. Dude from Battleship. Jai Courtney
cartographer
Member
Then replying to my post that was 100 percent about the "worked hard" argument seems really weird.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I was a film major at a historically white university, so I know. I mentioned a few black movies in class before and the only person who recognized them was the only other black person.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Nah. We're good.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
I forgot all about Terryology
cartographer
Member
Was never pushed like Reynolds was, who was handed huge role after huge role. And Birth of the Nation made less at the box office than it was purchased for.
FunkyPajamas
Member
Also Kiss of the Dragon. But I never liked Jet Li as an actor. He's good for action choreography but I don't think he can act. Like, he was great as the bad guy in LW4, or Hero, but that's it.
He even got to k̶i̶s̶s̶ hug Aaliyah. That's the best they're gonna give us.
Chow Yun Fat not making it big in Hollywood is a crime against humanity though.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Because it's not a matter of getting the census figures to match up. It's a matter of getting stories about people who aren't white and male in front of audiences that are white and male as a means to help increase understanding and empathy.
Currently even when minority faces are present, they're still only considered accessories to the telling of a predominantly white and male story. That's not to say white/male focused stories can't stir up empathy/sympathy, that they can't evoke real emotions and understanding. But when your largest entertainment export is almost 100% laser focused on telling one demographic's story above all others, you're going to internalize that that demographic is inherently more important than every other.
Which it isn't.
Increasing representation in film is important because that increased representation, over time, helps cause people to internalize (whether they realize it or not) notions of equality, whether that theme is specifically hammered on or not. The more you're used to thinking about people as people, even when they don't look like you, the more those particular walls you have built up over a lifetime come down.
It's why fighting against increased representation, or suggesting representation should hit a certain number and then stop because otherwise there's going to be an "imbalance" rubs people the wrong way, because whether you're realizing it or not, you're inadvertently arguing against the idea of other races/sexes/orientations getting their opportunity to share the stage and tell their stories, which might just be way more universal than you're expecting because of the set defaults in protagonist that you've come to accept.
A movie/story like Moonlight shouldn't be as rare as it is, yunno?
That's why increased representation is a thing. The more audiences get used to the idea of stepping outside of themselves in order to appreciate the prism by which the human experience shines, the more opportunities for those stories to get told, and the better off we are.
Life reflects art reflects life. Only that second reflection stays washed out. It shouldn't be.
Could you imagine Higher Learning get released nowadays?
He still wasn't anything like OJ. Not really an easy casting though.
But Michael B. Jordan was not the star of FF. He was just in the movie.
If anything, he is a younger Elba. Increadibly talented, very hard working, critical hit after critical hit on both TV and film who had to work a decade longer than a similarly attractive and talented white guy would have to get a staring vehicle put his way..
and he got to leverage that success into the bad guy of a marvel movie.
If MBJ was white, he would be on the short list for the staring role of every major hollywood project without a lead attached.
Ryan Reynolds (and for that matter MBJs FNL co-star Taylor Kitsch) both got MASSIVE bombs in John Carter and Green Lantern. And then both got two more massive bombs (RIP Division and Battleship), after both had been in Xmen: Origins Wolverine where both were pilloried by critics. Even Kitsch who "failed" is in movies with Michael Keaton, Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin this year. Chance after chance.
A movie about a mop was Oscar worthy last year
This year black people literally had to put a man damn near on the moon to get noticed.
That is a good post. Think of all the young up and coming in hollywood, how many are minorities?
This year black people literally had to put a man damn near on the moon to get noticed.
That is a good post. Think of all the young up and coming in hollywood, how many are minorities?
Ninja Scooter
Member
The only problem i had with Cuba in that role was that he did not have the two distinct OJ features that I think people associate him especially in the context of the murders, and that's OJs size and deep voice. Cuba seemed like the smallest guy on the show. Maybe someone like Dennis Haysbert pulls off those specific qualities better but it's not like Cuba can help it, considering the material he was given I thought he did an alright job.
Thats an overstatement im here looking at his filmography
cartographer
Member
Relative to Nate Parker it's probably an understatement.
Off topic but if anyone here hasnt seen the video of Rappaport being told Oakley got banned from MSG, its fucking incredible.
FunkyPajamas
Member
Yup. What big budget movies did he get to star in? Green Lantern and RIPD? Everything else has been rom coms and smaller projects, I think.
Funny thing is I thought Malcolm Jamal Warner could have actually pulled it off a bit better while watching the program, but then we are back to the acting.
FunkyPajamas
Member
My man.
We were never good enough for him
DontBeThatGuy
Member
I feel like this cannot be quoted enough. So, I'll start.
Jason Lee.
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